Wherever you are, you can be a part of our spring sunshine box project for a precious child battling a life-threatening metabolic condition. Children with mitochondrial disease live in a medical world that is largely unknown, underserved, under researched, and under supported. We have connected with the metabolic department at our local children’s hospital, CHOC. We have committed to delivering 100 boxes of sunshine to CHOC this summer. Forty-three of the boxes will be hand delivered to the mitochondrial families that attend the outpatient clinic. The remaining 57 will be allotted for the metabolic physicians to hand deliver to children with metabolic diseases who are acutely hospitalized at CHOC. For a child with chronic healthcare challenges and a poor prognosis, this box of sunshine could mean the world! We are excited to say that with your generosity and time, we are only 25 boxes away from fulfilling our goal of 100! We hope to be able to deliver in July.

Jordan emanated joy and love wherever he went. Last Thanksgiving we had the opportunity to share his joy and love at our local children’s hospital, CHOC. The Cline Family knows what it’s like to watch your child fight for his or her life in the ICU. Even more difficult is to be a family in the hospital during the holidays, when you feel intensely isolated from the rest of the world. For the staff, it can be emotionally difficult to bear witness to what these families go through.

Jojo’s community gathered together in November 2019 to create 40 Thanksgiving baskets (both in person and virtually), for the families in the pediatric intensive care unit in the hospital. These baskets were a labor of love, with 22 intentional items included; to encourage, bring hope, and a moment of joy to these families on Thanksgiving. On November 27, they were delivered to the CHOC pediatric intensive care unit and were received with grateful tears. Both the families and staff were deeply impacted by the gifts and the experience. The staff commented how touched they were to be a part of the gifting of the baskets and were encouraged by the cards they received from the families in the ICU (custom cards were provided in the gift baskets for families to sign and give to a chosen care provider). We look forward to you coming alongside us to make 50 Thanksgiving Baskets this year.

Raising and caring for a child with chronic healthcare needs is an intense, demanding, emotional journey affecting all members of the family. The hours are long, the schedules are complicated, the emotional and mental fatigue is relentless, and a state of survival is often the norm. The sheer demands and stress of this journey can cause the family unit to be stretched thin. Our goal at the Live Like Jojo Foundation is to provide families with a "Live Fully Family Experience". This is an opportunity to make a special memory together; to share in an experience that provides a space of connection, joy, and out-of-the-ordinary fun! A family experience could be a family day at the park, a family horseback ride at a local ranch, or an in-home family night (take-out dinner, games, puzzles, crafts, paints/canvas). Each family is unique, and their experience will seek to reflect their specific needs. To record these moments, with the family's permission, a photographer will capture an hour of the experience to provide the family with tangible images they will treasure for a lifetime. The need is great, the opportunities are many, and the impact will be lasting and significant.

We will be walking again October 2, 2022 to celebrate and acknowledge the superhero kids amongst us: the uniquely abled, brave warriors that rise above and beyond the immense challenges they face every single day. 

What is a SuperHero in our eyes?

It isn’t the ones with hulk-like strength, fantastical powers, and fancy capes, those marvels are only entertaining at best. 

It is in the hospitals, homes, and clinics that we have witnessed and known the real SUPERHEROES; the children who get up every morning, get back into “the ring”, and overcome impossible odds every day. 

Jojo was and is a Superhero. Many children just like him must manage needles, pumps, medications, feeding tubes, and therapies every single day. They battle vision, hearing, sensory, cognitive, emotional, physical, and systemic challenges every single day. These INCREDIBLE kids demonstrate superhuman courage and strength we can only aspire to. The Live Like JoJo Foundation is honored to partner with you today in supporting the true superheroes that live among us. Be a part of something special this year, something you’ll never forget!